# Naamkarann

Naamkarann (transl. Naming Ceremony) (international title: My Identity) is an Indian drama television series which premiered 12 September 2016 on Star Plus. Inspired by the 1998 Bollywood film Zakhm, it was based on the life of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
The show initially starred child actor Arsheen Naamdaar as Avni Mehta, Viraf Patel, Barkha Sengupta, Sayantani Ghosh and Reema Lagoo from September 2016 to March 2017. It then took a 15 year time jump and focused on Avni Mehta (Aditi Rathore) and Neil Khanna (Zain Imam). In May 2017, Ragini Shah replaced Reema Lagoo due to the latter's death. The show ended on 18 May 2018 after 463 episodes.

## Plot

9-year-old Avni Ayesha lives with her mother, Ayesha Haider. Avni's father and a filmmaker, Ashish Mehta, meets them in secret because of his mother, Dayawanti, a religious yet corrupt Hindu woman. She hates Ayesha as she is a Muslim and rejects Avni due to the fact that she was born out of wedlock, to this day Avni has not had her Naamkaran (Naming Ceremony) and therefore goes by Avni Ayesha. Ashish Mehta is forced to marry Neela Parikh, who befriends with Avni and stands up against Dayawanti.
Later, Ayesha gives birth to a son, Aman. Dayawanti kills Ayesha and takes Aman, framing Avni for Ayesha's death. Believing Dayawanti, Ashish gets Avni arrested. Neela bails Avni out and leaves with her, divorcing Ashish. After Avni's release, Dayawanti tricks Avni into meeting her in the woods, claiming she can see her brother Aman there. When Avni arrives, Dayawanti shoots her and runs away with Aman, renaming him Amol Mehta. Neela finds Avni and saves her. Avni is presumed dead. Ashish learns that Dayawanti killed Ayesha and pledges to get her jail. However, in an altercation, Ashish is killed.

### 15 years later

Avni is now grown up and lives with Neela under the new name Ananya Verma. She steals money from the rich and donates it to the poor. Still holding grudges against Dayawanti, Avni wants to reconcile with her brother Aman and decides to return to the Mehta Mansion. She discovers that her cousin Riya Mehta is getting married and decides to find and befriend her in order to attend the wedding and take Aman back. ACP Neil Khanna is recruited to find out the belongings of the case 123 (which is Avni). Avni's childhood friend, Ali, finds out that Ananya is Avni and helps her. Avni's brother, Aman, is grown into a spoiled brat and troubles Avni and Neela.
Neil finds that Ananya is, in fact, Avni. She marries Neil to save him from Mehtas and their trap to take money from the Khannas. Eventually, Neil develops a soft corner for Avni and learns about her childhood from Neela. It is revealed that Ashish found the truth about Ayesha's death but is killed by his brother, Ketan, while confronting Dayawanti. Avni, Neil, and Neela expose Dayawanti and Ketan, who are arrested. Seeing Dayawanti's truth, Aman reforms himself. He kills Dayawanti when she tries to kill Avni and is arrested. Avni forgives Aman.
Neil's ex-fiancée, Juhi, informs him about their illegitimate daughter, Mishti, who is being held captive by Vidyut. Avni rescues Mishti and bonds with her. Mishti turns out to be Juhi and Vidyut's daughter. Juhi tries to marry Neil, but Avni stops the wedding. Later on, Juhi is shot to death. Vidyut makes it look like Avni shot Juhi, forcing Neil to arrest her for Juhi's murder to safeguard her from Vidyut's trap. Avni misunderstands Neil to be hating her.

### 6 months later

Heartbroken by the accusation of killing Juhi and the lack of trust between her and Neil, Avni learns combat skills in prison to fight against the crimes she didn't commit. Neil proves Avni innocent in Juhi's murder and Ragini Pandit; Vidyut's mother is arrested for Juhi's murder and later, she dies. Neil and Avni reunite as her misunderstanding gets clear; they later consummate their marriage. Vidyut, in order to take revenge on Neil, drugs Prakash and wants him to kill Neil, but Neela saves Neil and is fatally shot, Neela dies. Vidyut threatens Avni to marry him to save Prakash. Avni acts to marry Vidyut and burns Vidyut's palace, leaving with Mishti. Neil reaches there and unable to find them presumes that they died. Vidyut gets arrested under Avni and Mishti's murder charges.

### 10 years later

Neil has resigned from the post of ACP and has now turned into a radio jockey living with Avni's memories. Avni has changed her name to Nilanjana and dedicates her life to the well-being of illegitimate children in a shelter home called "Sukoon House". She takes care of Mishti, who is renamed Saisha, and also takes care of her son from Neil, Neav. Saisha (Mishti) is an aspiring singer and an ardent fan of actor Karan Kapoor. Saisha and Karan eventually fall in love, and they get married, whereas a jailed Vidyut dies in an altercation with a prisoner.
Avni decides to leave the city with Neav so that Neil can start a new life with Mitali. Neil learns that Avni left him to safeguard Prakash in Neela's murder. He apologizes to Avni, but she sends him to Mitali, who is eager to marry him. Mitali, however, encourages him to pursue Avni and Neil. Avni and Neil reunite.

## Cast
### Main

* Aditi Rathore as Avni Neil Khanna (Avni Ayesha, Mehta/Neelanjana): Neil's wife; Neev's mother; Ashish and Ayesha's daughter; Neela's adopted daughter; Aman's sister; Riya's cousin; Ali's best friend (2017-2018)
** Arsheen Naamdaar as Child Avni Ayesha (2016–2017)
* Zain Imam as Neil Khanna – Former ACP turned radio jockey; Avni's husband; Neev's father ;Shweta and Prakash's son (2017–2018)
* Sayantani Ghosh as Neela Parikh: Hemant's daughter; Avni and Aman's adoptive mother; Neev's adoptive grandmother (2016–2018) (dead)
* Reema Lagoo / Ragini Shah as Dayawanti Mehta – Ashish, Ketan and Diksha's mother; Avni, Riya and Aman's grandmother; Ashish and Ayesha's murderer; Neev's great-grandmother (2016–2017) / (2017) (Dead)
* Barkha Sengupta as Ayesha Haider Mehta – Fatima's daughter; Ashish's wife; Avni and Aman's mother; Neev's grandmother (2016–2017) (Dead)
* Viraf Patel as Ashish Mehta – Dayawanti's elder son; Ketan and Diksha's brother; Ayesha's widower; Avni and Aman's father; Neev's grandfather (2016–2017)(Dead)

### Recurring

* Kabir Shah as Neev Khanna – Avni and Neil's son (2018)
* Gulfam Khan as Fatima Haider – Ayesha's mother; Avni and Aman grandmother; Neev's great-grandmother (2016–2017)
* Gautam Vig as Ali Khan – Avni's childhood friend; Neil's best friend (2017–2018)
** Shubh Kalra as Child Ali (2016)
* Sushant Mohindru as Aman "Amol" Mehta – Ayesha and Ashish's son; Avni's brother; Neev's Uncle; Riya's cousin (2017)
* Jahaan Arora as Inspector Dakhal "DD" Dayal – Neil's friend; Sunheri's love interest (2017–2018)
* Kunwar Amarjeet Singh as Aladdin aka Kabir – Avni's friend (2016)
* Nalini Negi as Riya Mehta – Hetal and Ketan's daughter; Aman and Avni's cousin ; Neev's aunt(2017)
* Anaya Soni as Hetal Mehta – Ketan's wife; Avni and Aman's aunt; Riya's mother (2016–2017)
* Puru Chibber as Ketan Mehta – Dayawanti's younger son; Ashish and Diksha's brother; Riya's father; Ashish's murderer (2016–2017)
* Neelam Sivia as Diksha Mehta – Dayawanti's daughter; Ashish and Ketan's sister; Hansmukh's ex-wife (2016–2017)(Jailed)
* Vivek Madan as Hansmukh Agarwal – Ashish's friend; Diksha's ex-husband (2016)
* Sanjay Swaraj as Prakash Khanna – Harleen's son; Shweta's husband; Neil's father; Neev's grandfather (2017–2018)
* Shruti Ulfat as Shweta Khanna – Prakash's wife; Neil's mother; Neev's grandmother (2017–2018)
* Neelu Kohli as Harleen Khanna – Prakash's mother; Neil's grandmother; Neev's great-grandmother (2017–2018)
* Payal Bhojwani as Mishti "Sayesha" Pandit/ Kapoor – Juhi and Vidyut's daughter; Karan's wife (2018)
** Aayesha Vindhara as Child Mishti Pandit (2017–2018)
* Zaan Khan as Karan "KK" Kapoor – Film superstar; Kamini and Sharad's son; Mishti's husband (2018)
* Poonampreet Bhatia as Juhi Pandit – Vidyut's kept; Mishti's mother (2017) (Dead)
* Karam Rajpal as Vidyut Pandit – Ragini's son; Mishti's father (2017–2018) (Dead)
* Soni Singh as Sunehri – Avni's friend; DD's love interest (2017–2018)
* Sana Amin Sheikh as Inspector Mitali Sharma – Neil, Avni, Ali and DD's best friend;(2017–2018)
* Prakriti Nautiyal as Tara – Sitara's twin sister; Avni's friend (2017–2018)
* Pragya Nautiyal as Sitara – Tara's twin sister; Avni's friend (2017–2018)
* Jayati Bhatia as Kamini Kapoor – Sharad's wife; Karan's mother (2018)
* Mohit Chauhan as Sharad Kapoor – Kamini's husband; Karan's father (2018)
* Bhavesh Balchandani as Samrat – An orphan at Sukoon house (2018)
* Swasti Katyal as Pinki – An orphan at Sukoon house (2018)
* Pawani Sharma as Daisy – An orphan at Sukoon house (2018)
* Manini Mishra as Ragini Kumar Pandit – Vidyut's mother; Misti's grandmother; Juhi's murderer (2017–2018) (Dead)
* Priya Tandon as Monica – Avni's rival; Avni, Tara, Sitara and Sunheri's co-prisoner (2017–2018)
* Karan Jagdish Singh as Avni's lawyer in Neav's custody case (2018)

## Production

The show initially starred child actor Arsheen Naamdaar as Avni Ayesha, besides Viraf Patel, Barkha Sengupta and Reema Lagoo from September 2016 to March 2017. It then took a fifteen year-leap and focused on Avni Ayesha (Aditi Rathore) and Neil Khanna (Zain Imam). In May 2017, Ragini Shah replaced Reema Lagoo after the latter's demise. The show ended on 18 May 2018 completing 463 episodes and its slot was taken by Krishna Chali London.